


a dance for two

by rysanthel



Category: VIXX
Genre: Angst, Blind Character, How Do I Tag, M/M, Romance probably, hakyeon is a hospital patient, kind of, or probably not, taekwoon is a music therapist, the rest are history
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-01 03:23:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14511465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rysanthel/pseuds/rysanthel
Summary: Shooting stars, Cha Hakyeon; maybe all beautiful things just weren't meant to last for so long.





	a dance for two

**Author's Note:**

> hi! I don't know how you came across this fic but nice to meet you and all. actually I wrote this for something somewhere and then decided to edit some stuff to make it less shitty and reposted this here for my own archive because why not :3 this isn't that good of an angst but I tried haaaaah myenglishalsosucksimsosorry. so. yeah lol. if you're reading this, I hope you enjoy! if you're not, then I hope you enjoy your time too somewhere!
> 
> R xx
> 
> p.s : this [precious being](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RukiaSR) made me a cover for this story!
> 
>  
> 
> _Translated to[Vietnamese](https://www.wattpad.com/story/154389397-trans-leon-%C4%91i%E1%BB%87u-nh%E1%BA%A3y-cho-hai-ng%C6%B0%E1%BB%9Di)!_

__

 

_"They said a wish upon a shooting star always comes true."_

_"Does the magic still work if I can't see it?"_

 

☆☆☆

 

This was how all cliché stories started. Taekwoon accidentally found Hakyeon, in his ugly green hospital pajamas, dancing alone as he softly hummed the song Unforgettable, and Taekwoon found himself staring for longer than he wanted to. And it didn't look like waltz, or ballet, or whatever those dances were called—it just looked like Hakyeon and it was so beautiful, and Taekwoon realized he was screwed for life.

 

***

 

One thing the professor kept telling Taekwoon was to treat hospital patients just like normal people. Well, bet his life it couldn't be as simple as that, because Taekwoon wasn't really sure how to treat a blind, where to look, or even what to say. This was his first time working as a volunteer. If it wasn't a requirement to pass one of his classes, Taekwoon definitely wouldn't be doing this so willingly. He hated everything about hospitals; the noise, the smell, the heavy atmosphere—well, who even liked it there?

But, putting that aside, he took a deep breath and made his entrance to the room. The television was on, he first noticed, showing some variety cooking show, which Taekwoon couldn't help but winced at because how did a blind watch that.

On the bed, a man was sitting cross legged. He looked surprisingly young—couldn't be much older than Taekwoon himself. A pair of opaque eyes were staring emptily to the television and there was a small smile on the man's face, as if he knew what was going on there on the screen. Taekwoon stole a glance at the name plate hanging on the bed. ' _Cha Hakyeon_ ' was written there with a black marker.

As Taekwoon hesitantly approached him, the man turned his head to where Taekwoon came from. "Ah, you must be the new music therapist," he exclaimed. 

Taekwoon halted his steps. "How did you know?" he asked, eyes blinking, amazed.

"Obviously not by the looks," he answered. "The footsteps sound different. So, I was right?"

Taekwoon nodded in agreement, but then he remembered that Hakyeon couldn't see. "Therapist sounds too big, but yeah." He cleared his throat. "I'm Jung Taekwoon. You probably know that my friend Hongbin who used to visit you is going to volunteer for the hospital out of the town."

Hakyeon nodded. "Yeah, he told me last week," he said. There was a slight gloom on his face, but it didn't last too long. "Okay, so you're taking his place to become my friend, then?"

Friend. Taekwoon was never the type of person who was good in human relationships, but there was something about Hakyeon—maybe it was the fact that Hakyeon was blind, or maybe it was the fact that apparently not everyone in the hospital was an ass like what Taekwoon thought before—that made he feel slightly comfortable. He guessed friend could do. "Pretty much. I come here to make you listen to some songs and I will listen to you talking about your day and stuff, just like how you did with my friend these past months."

"Great. Nice to meet you, Taekwoon." Hakyeon smiled wide, one that immediately put Taekwoon in ease. Maybe it wouldn't be that hard.

 

***

 

"It's Taekwoon!"

Taekwoon didn't say anything until he sat on the edge of Hakyeon's bed. "It can be a serial killer coming for you," he warned jokingly.

Hakyeon chuckled. "Judging from the soft footsteps, yeah it can be. But I'm already dying, so why bother."

Taekwoon already opened his mouth to scold him, but Hakyeon beat him to that.

"Also this is Wednesday. You always visit me on Wednesday and Friday."

Taekwoon rolled his eyes because of the sudden topic change, but he decided to let it pass. "Since when did you pay attention to time."

"Don't roll your eyes on me."

"I didn't."

Hakyeon raised a hand to hit Taekwoon, but the latter already saw this coming and hurriedly scooted away. "I might be blind, but I'm not deaf," Hakyeon scoffed. "Your voice practically exposes everything you put on your face."

"What are you now, wolverine?"

"Geez. Don't be rude. I'm still older than you by few months." Hakyeon pouted, reaching his arms out as if he was calling Taekwoon to come closer. "Plus I'm dying. You probably won't be seeing this beauty in this room next year or sooner. Don't want me to remember that sass of yours when I ascend to heaven, do you?"

The words spilled out jokingly, but somehow they sent chills down Taekwoon's spine. He brushed the uncomfortable feeling off his chest that instant. "You really suck Cha Hakyeon," he mumbled.

"Yeah, yeah." Hakyeon waved his hand carelessly and leaned down back in his bed. "So, what are you going to make me listen to today?"

"One of my favorite songs." Taekwoon sat back to his place on the bed earlier and took out his phone with a smile. Hakyeon waited for him. There was a brief silence before the song started with a piano. " _Unforgettable_ , Nat King Cole."

 

***

 

In three months, Taekwoon learned that Hakyeon didn't have bad days.

There were days when Hakyeon could hardly move or breathe, or his legs were all swollen, or he got cold sweats, or his chest was in pain and his head was hurting really bad he couldn't eat, or he wheezed so hard that they didn't allow Taekwoon in. But Hakyeon never had bad days. He didn't rage or throw food away. He didn't shout at people. He didn't cry. Usually he just slept those days off. On slightly better days, he bit his lips and smiled through it like an idiot.

In three months, Taekwoon learned that Hakyeon was born blind.

He was an orphan until an old lady adopted him as her grandchild, and she made sure he grew past his childhood as normal as a blind could be. He was 18 when they told him that there was a problem with his heart. His grandma witnessed the process of him getting weaker, and by the time he reached 24 he was practically living in the hospital. The doctors told him a new heart would save him, but they simply couldn't afford a second life, neither did Hakyeon want it.

In three months, Taekwoon learned that Hakyeon had a dream to be a dancer.

"That sounds impossible, I know," Hakyeon added before Taekwoon had a chance to speak. "A blind can't dance, they said. But they also said I was going to die at 25, yet here I am, living and breathing."

 _Barely_.

In three months, Taekwoon learned that Hakyeon was just good at faking happiness.

 

***

 

"You know, if you lost one of your senses, the others will get stronger," Hakyeon told him. "It's the ability of your brain to adapt to the loss."

Taekwoon knew it was a good day when Hakyeon's face glowed and he felt like talking a lot. The older would blather anything he could think of, from the weather to random things he heard from variety shows on TV. Apparently today's topic was senses.

"Sight takes the largest part of the brain, so losing that will open up your brain more than the other senses will."

Taekwoon usually responded with silence or just a nod, because talkative Hakyeon didn't need arguing partner. He wanted to talk, and Taekwoon wanted to listen. They were comfortable like that.

"So I depend on my hearing to live. I can immediately recognize people by their voices or the way they walk. I also remember scents really well." Hakyeon talked with his chin up confidently. "Hey, do you want to know what you smell like?"

"Not really but you're going to spill anyway."

Hakyeon deliberately ignored that. "You smell like soap. Like an expensive one."

"Hmm."

"And coffee," Hakyeon continued. "One that my grandma used to brew every morning."

Taekwoon let out a soft chuckle at his words. "So I smell like an old lady now."

Hakyeon burst out laughing. "No, not actually," he corrected himself. "You smell like home."

 

***

 

"I actually have seen you dance once," Taekwoon admitted out of nowhere between Have I Told You Lately by Rod Steward.

"Huh?" Hakyeon turned his head to Taekwoon and blinked, and if it was not for the blank opaque eyes, Taekwoon could imagine Hakyeon staring at his face. "When?"

"Some time ago when you thought nobody was watching. The empty hallway on 3rd floor." To unnecessarily prove to no one that he wasn't lying, Taekwoon sung a bit of the song, " _That's why darling, it's incredible. That someone so unforgettable thinks that I am unforgettable too_. Told you it was my favorite."

"So you're a stalker now?" Hakyeon tried to laugh it off, but he couldn't quite hide the faint blush on his face. "You have a really nice voice, though. Why don't you sing instead of just playing songs for me?"

"Not in my job description."

"I thought you were volunteering?"

"I volunteer to treat patients with music therapy."

"The purpose of music therapy is to distract the patient from pain without drugs or medical treatment in order to make them feel better, and listening to your voice makes this patient feel better."

"Feel like a smartass today, eh?"

Hakyeon was fast that time and he slapped Taekwoon's arm before the younger got to move away. "Do you want to try?" he asked.

"I'm not gonna sing," Taekwoon said with finality.

"No, I mean dancing."

Taekwoon squinted, because he was unsure if he heard right. But, Hakyeon raised from the bed and stretched his hand out for Taekwoon to hold.

"What is this," Taekwoon deadpanned.

"Me asking you for a dance."

"I can't dance."

Hakyeon shrugged, hand still hanging on the air, waiting. "I can't see it."

It left Taekwoon sighing in defeat. He regretted bringing up the dancing topic, but Hakyeon seemed pretty quiet lately, and Taekwoon wanted to pick him up, and if dancing could make him happy, then he wouldn't say no.

So Taekwoon took Hakyeon's cold hand and stood up. He let Hakyeon pull him to the center of the room to avoid bumping onto things. Despite his zero experience, Taekwoon had watched other people dancing before, so when Hakyeon put his hands on Taekwoon's shoulders, Taekwoon's hands automatically went around Hakyeon's waist. They stood there for a second, holding their breath, and Hakyeon started counting. _One, two, three._ Hakyeon's left, Taekwoon's right. _One, two, three._ Hakyeon's right, Taekwoon's left. Slowly, they found their pace. Taekwoon could feel his heart beating fast against Hakyeon's slower one.

_Have I told you lately that I love you?_

_Have I told you there's no one else above you?_

Hakyeon started humming along the song, then somewhere in between Taekwoon joined. And dance didn't feel anything like dance, it was more like hugging with a song on the background. Taekwoon didn't remember if he ever had gotten this close with anyone before, not that it mattered, because the weight of Hakyeon's hands on his shoulder felt right, and Hakyeon's breath on his neck felt warm—it tickled, in a nice way.

For the last time, Hakyeon's smile was genuine.

 

***

 

As seasons changed, the good days disappeared completely. Music therapy began to be less about songs and Hakyeon's chatter and more about silences trapped in the humid room. Taekwoon visited for three days in a week instead of two, then five, and eventually he showed up everyday just to check on Hakyeon, although the latter was more often asleep than awake.

Taekwoon started to lose track of time. He forgot the date. He couldn't really tell if it was actually 7 PM or 3 AM. They looked the same. Sometimes he even looked up the sky and wondered if they were still in autumn or it was already spring. He stopped coming to his classes or visiting the other patients. It didn't really matter. Nothing did anymore.

Yet at rare times when Taekwoon got to see Hakyeon awake, he smiled and everything felt okay againーeven if it was temporary. Hakyeon usually would ask Taekwoon to play Unforgettable or Have I Told You Lately (Hakyeon jokingly called that song ' _slow dance sountrack_ ' as a reminder for their first—and last—dance) and tell Taekwoon how he badly wanted to dance.

"I'm not losing yet," Hakyeon said out of the blue one day. "Stop staring at me like my heart's going to be expired soon."

It was kind of funny to hear it from Hakyeon, when the man himself could feel his time was coming to end as it was clearly visible to Taekwoon.

The two of them switched roles. Taekwoon was then the talkative one, blathering about weather and pretty nurses and street food, desperate to keep Hakyeon awake longer each day, and Hakyeon would try his best to listen until exhaustion took him away. Sometimes Taekwoon even sung a song too. Other times he read stories. He stayed composed, but his heart was breaking bad as Hakyeon was dying, and neither could do anything.

"You should be going out instead of staying here with me," Hakyeon once told him. "Enjoy the last moment of autumn. Orange and red leaves, and stuff."

"The best part is already gone weeks ago, actually."

"Really?" Hakyeon blinked. He looked slightly disappointed. "Well, I guess beautiful things just don't last too long."

Taekwoon couldn't even laugh at the irony of that.

It was so unfair, Taekwoon thought, that Hakyeon was born without a chance to see the world he was living in, and on top of that, God also gave him a heart that didn't even work properly. People always said everything happened for a reason, but what in the world could be the reason for Hakyeon to deserve this kind of life, Taekwoon just couldn't understand it.

"They said a wish upon a shooting star always comes true," Taekwoon quoted a sentence from the story he was reading.

"Does the magic still work if I can't see it?" Hakyeon asked.

Good question. "I don't know, honestly."

"Well, it's not bad to have hope."

Taekwoon swallowed hard to get rid of the lump in his throat, but it was useless. "That's like the most motivational thing I've heard today, thank you very much," he murmured.

Hakyeon laughed sheepishly, and for a moment his face glowed like how he used to be. He was still hanging in there, probably more for Taekwoon than himself.

 

***

 

"Why am I on a wheel chair?"

Taekwoon didn't answer him. Instead, he put a blanket over Hakyeon's lap. "Keep yourself warm."

"Why do I—where are we going?" Hakyeon changed his question when he felt the wheel chair move.

"We're getting fresh air," Taekwoon said, carefully pushing the wheel chair out of the room. It was pretty cold and windy, but Taekwoon couldn't think of any better. They were counting down time, what they could do that day, they better did it.

"But it's already late night."

"Don't be sissy."

"Damn you."

Hakyeon couldn't guess where they were going because he wasn't used to use wheel chair, but Taekwoon's presence, the sound of his soft footsteps, the familiar scent of nice soap and homemade coffee; they were enough to calm his nerves. He knew they've left the hospital building by the cold wind on his face. He pulled his blanket up to his neck. "Why are we outside?"

"There's a shooting star tonight."

Hakyeon narrowed his eyebrows, confused. "Shooting star?"

"Don't you want to make a wish?"

They finally stopped somewhere. From the grass scent, Hakyeon supposed they were at the park. He didn't hear anyone else there. Only the two of them. Taekwoon helped him to get off the wheel chair and didn't forget to wrap him with the blanket.

"I probably look like a spring roll," Hakyeon fussed.

"A warm spring roll, at least." Taekwoon put his hands on Hakyeon's shoulder from behind and turned him to face a direction. "In front of us is a clear night sky. Wow, there's no cloud tonight. Only stars. Small, bright, and there are lots of them. It's so beautiful."

Hakyeon had no idea how to imagine that, but he nodded.

"We still have... two minutes. Close your eyes."

"I'm blind."

"Shush it's tradition."

Hakyeon clicked his tongue, but he closed them anyway and waited. Two minutes were long, he was tired, and maybe it felt colder than it actually was. When Taekwoon noticed how Hakyeon shivered, he wrapped his arms around him. Hakyeon's back was pressed on Taekwoon's broad chest and Hakyeon sunk into the warmth. He never thought he was small (his grandma often said he was taller than any other kids around his age, though), but in Taekwoon's arms, he suddenly felt like a little kid.

"There, there," Taekwoon whispered. "Shooting star. Hurry make a wish."

 _Wish._  

Hakyeon could wish his heart would magically stop failing. He could wish to be able to see before he died. He could wish Taekwoon to stay with him. He could wish this moment to last forever. He could wish all the impossible; but honestly he was running out of hope.

"Did you make your wish?" Taekwoon asked. His voice was barely a whisper, if it was not for the dead silence, Hakyeon would have missed it.

Hakyeon nodded his head. "What did you wish for?"

"Can't tell, or else it won't come true."

Hakyeon snorted. "You know, people only say that when they don't know what they want."

Taekwoon loosened his arms just enough so he could stare at the older. "What did you wish for, then?"

"I have put them all in a list."

"That's not how it works," Taekwoon complained.

Hakyeon shrugged. "I make my own rules, child."

"Damn."

As much as Taekwoon wanted to stay there longer, he couldn't ignore how Hakyeon's face had turn pale and his lips were dry because of the cold, so he demanded they go back inside. As reluctant as Hakyeon was, he couldn't argue—but he refused the wheel chair because "I'm blind, not paralyzed" and Taekwoon had no choice but to let him. So they walked back inside, Hakyeon's hand in Taekwoon's, and the warmth they shared filled the silence more than words could do.

Just as they got in the room, Hakyeon started wheezing. He fell on his knees right before Taekwoon's eyes, gripping his chest and his body bent in pain. Taekwoon froze in surprise until the realization slapped him in the face. He ran to hit the emergency button. The nurses rushed in, followed by the doctor, and they told Taekwoon to wait outside. The last thing Taekwoon heard was Hakyeon's painful scream before the nurse slammed the door closed.

 

***

 

Hakyeon was awake when Taekwoon came back after a week. He looked calm. Not fine. Not healthy. Just calm. Taekwoon took hesitant steps in, recalling the long paragraph of "I'm really sorry I was so worried" he had prepared ahead, but Hakyeon spoke first, and the trail of thoughts disappeared.

"I really am fragile, aren't I?"

It took Taekwoon a moment to understand that Hakyeon was talking about the attack. He swallowed, hands trembling as he walked to stand beside the bed where Hakyeon was lying, a pile of pillow supporting his back so he could sit. The TV was on. Hakyeon muted it before he turned his head to Taekwoon, two opaque eyes staring into empty air.

"I'm so scared," Hakyeon stated. "But, if I said that, you would tell me that everything's going to be okay, and I would believe you, because lies keep me alive."

Taekwoon opened his mouth, but he had nothing to say to that. His heart clenched. He knew what he was about to hear, and he didn't want to. He didn't want to. He didn't want to.

"This is how all cliché stories end, Taekwoon," Hakyeon chuckled. "I'll be dead, and you'll be crying for some time. Maybe you'll move on eventually, or maybe you'll live with the image of a dying blind man forever. But, there's no happy future ahead."  His voice got weaker and weaker the more he spoke. "No future. I don't even have many tomorrows left to expect."

"Hakyeon—"

"And as much as I want to spend those with you," Hakyeon cut him, "it hurts me, because I'll keep hoping for the impossible, and I'll hurt you too by forcing you to stay and watch me die."

Taekwoon held his breath in. His head hurt. His chest hurt. Everything hurt.

"So, while I still can let you go—"

Taekwoon didn't want to hear that.

"—please, save me the pain and leave."

Taekwoon wanted to say, _"I will stay. I don't care you're dying."_

Taekwoon wanted to say, _"Let me stay. You don't have to go through this alone."_

Taekwoon wanted to say, _"It doesn't have to end like this."_

But the silence fell, and it never lifted again.

 

***

 

Hakyeon's heart stopped beating two days later.

 

***

 

Taekwoon didn't know when the letter reached his mailbox, but it looked dusty, so he suggested it had been there for days. It was a plain boring envelope with nothing special to catch his attention, but the sender's full name and the hospital address caused a pang in his chest.

He didn't cry. He swore to himself he wouldn't. Yet, his hands trembled as he unfolded the letter.

_Hey, Taekwoon. it's me, Hakyeon_

_I'm dyig so I make this shotr_

_I know you lied about the shooting star_

_There wasnot one that night, right?_

_But I got hafl of my wishes fulfilled so I guess the magic still works if you believe_

_I hope your wishes come true as well_

The handwriting was really messy and barely readable, as if Hakyeon had stopped some random kids at the hospital and asked them to write for him, which he probably did. Taekwoon read that letter once, twice, and he bit his lips hard. He absentmindedly flipped the paper and found a short list on the back side. It was neatly written, and maybe Hakyeon wrote that with help from his grandmother a long time ago.

  * _reach 30_
  * _have a pet_
  * ~~_dance in front of an audience_~~
  * _learn to play piano_
  * ~~_dance with someone that isn't grandma_~~



There was an additional wish on the bottom of the list that read; ~~_fall in love with someone who smells like coffee and has a nice voice_~~

Later that day, in the middle of another sleepless night, Taekwoon sat on his desk and added something to the last wish.

  * ~~_Be loved by that someone_  ~~



It had been a month since Hakyeon had passed away. Taekwoon didn't cry.

 

☆☆☆


End file.
